The Obama administration has sought to downplay the seriousness of Iran detaining 10 U.S. Navy sailors earlier this week.

Iran detained the nine men and one woman for about 16 hours after they apparently drifted into Iranian waters.

In an interview on "Hannity," State Department spokesman John Kirby echoed what Secretary of State John Kerry stated previously: that the sailors' quick release was due to the improved relations between Washington and Tehran.

Navy Capt. Chuck Nash (Ret.), a Fox News military analyst," disagreed on America's Newsroom this morning, arguing that the detention of American service members was a message by the Iranian regime.

He said the decision to apprehend the sailors and release footage of one of the sailors apologizing was made at the highest level, by Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

"This was done intentionally and it was done to further embarrass the United States. And to send the clear message to the Gulf Arabs: If the Americans won't stand up for themselves, they're certainly not going to stand up for you. We're the big dog now," Nash said.

Watch Nash's analysis above.

Earlier on the show, Bill Hemmer talked to Rep. Ed Royce (R-CA), chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee, who said the message Iran keeps sending is: "we're on a roll."

Royce noted that just a few weeks ago Iran fired a rocket near a U.S. aircraft carrier in the Strait of Hormuz.

He added that he spoke with Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) who stated that the sailors should not have been disarmed during this incident.

"It looks like the administration is getting rolled one more time. ... The Iranians continue this type of bad behavior and we continue to retreat," said Royce, noting that Iran has been "emboldened" after the nuclear agreement with the West.

Mark Levin said Thursday on "Hannity" that former FBI officials should be subject to the "Donald Trump treatment," with a grand jury hearing testimony from the "whole cabal" and a new special counsel overseeing an investigation.